Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance they have given to acute trusts about how to respond to Care Quality Commission inspection report recommendations to increase staffing levels whilst meeting Monitor requirements to reduce spending.

The Government has been clear that acute trusts are responsible for delivering high quality care within available resources. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) looks at staffing levels as part of its rating of safety in its programme of comprehensive inspections. These assessments include ward level discussions of acuity levels and achievement of planned staffing levels. Where an acute trust is failing to use staff in the best way to support patient care, the CQC is right to make that public. Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority are responsible for ensuring that acute trusts are providing high quality care in a financially sustainable manner. It is in the interests of future care quality that the finances of acute trusts are healthy; and many of the improvements that are needed to improve quality of care will also improve efficiency.